The Magic of Monsters
by BloomingFireHeart
Summary: Pandora is convinced that Mount Ebott is a dangerous place, but her best friend Sidney is determined to climb the mysterious mountain. Everything goes wrong when the two girls get separated and Pandora ends up falling down into a hole deep within the mountain. Now Pan has to try to survive an underground full of odd monsters, while trying to protect a small child. Slight OC/Sans
1. The Adventure We Will Never Forget

The Magic of Monsters

Summary: Pandora is convinced that Mount Ebott is a very dangerous place, but her best friend Sidney is determined to climb the mysterious mountain. Everything goes wrong when the two girls get separated and Pandora ends up falling down into a hole deep within the mountain. Now Pan has to try to survive an underground full of strange monsters, while trying to protect a small child who has also fallen into this odd place. Slight OC/Sans.

Author's Notes: Story will contain spoilers from the game. Also, it will include violence and some mature language.

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Chapter One:

The Adventure We Will Never Forget

"Come on, Pandy. This will be an adventure we will never forget," Sidney explained to her friend as she sat on the couch studying her laptop screen intensely. Her fingers were frantically typing out the words 'Mount Ebott' into a Google search engine.

"I don't know," Pandora replied while also sitting on the burgundy couch next to Sidney. "Haven't you heard the stories about that place?"

Pandora stared at Sidney questioningly. Did she really think climbing Mount Ebott was a good idea? Rumors had spread about the mountain being extremely dangerous and causing many of the most experienced climbers to mysteriously disappear. Anyone who had traveled to the ominous mountain, had suddenly vanished. They never came back from their journey.

"Yes, but aren't you curious?" Sidney questioned, blue eyes still glued to the laptop screen. "Think about it. We might actually be the first people who finally uncover the mystery. This is the opportunity of a life time!" She squeals with glee.

Sid was always the type of girl who always liked to travel to unique places. She was similar to a small child who wanted to know everything about anything. Her curiosity knew no bounds.

"You're crazy!" Pan exclaims. She had snickered as she ate some popcorn from the bowl sitting in the middle of the couch. She watched as her friend's expression turned into a slight frown. Pan couldn't tell if her best friend was frowning at her comment or at the many articles that popped up on her computer screen which described people who had never returned from their journey to the mountain. Either way, she didn't like to see her friend discouraged even if her ideas were a bit wacky.

"Pan," Sid begins with her tone suddenly becoming a bit more serious."Do you remember the first time we went sky diving together?" She asked.

Pan knew where her friend was going with this conversation. The two friends always shared this discussion right before they embarked on some crazy adventure together. Sid would bring this up every single time Pan felt scared or unsure about trying something new. It never got old.

"Yes, I remember," Pan answered back and let out a pained sigh, waiting for her friend to give the usual motivational speech.

"Then you should remember when I told you to have the courage to face your fears and try new things in life. Don't ever let fear hold you back in life," Sid continues to lecture, while sitting up straight on the couch. "Life is about the experiences you share with people. We can't just sit around here waiting to die," She concluded.

On that note, Sid shoved a bunch of popcorn into her mouth. A few crumbs fell onto the couch, but she couldn't care less.

"Speak for yourself," Pan snorted. "I'd rather sit here on this couch and stay completely safe, than to get lost forever on some creepy mountain." She huffed as her head was filled with terrifying scenarios. Each one involving a gruesome fall from a ledge, causing the two girls to become seriously injured with no chance of someone coming to their rescue. She didn't want to continue thinking about it.

"That's the fear talking again," Sid scolded her companion as she took another chomp of pop corn without a care in the world. Pan gave her a sight smile and shook her head.

"Unbelievable," Pan blurts out. She lets out a soft chuckle, her brown orbs finally meeting Sid's electric blue eyes. "You're actually serious about this." She joked. She knew that look in Sid's eye. It was the look of absolute determination. Nothing was going to change her friend's mind about exploring the dangerous mountain, but that didn't stop Pan from trying.

"Deadly serious," Sid said with amusement. She gave her friend a sly wink, which caused Pan to roll her eyes dramatically. Now, she knew for sure that her friend must be clinically insane.

"Don't joke around like that. This is not a good idea," Pan continued as her tone was now laced with concern. "I know that we have traveled to some insane places, but I have a bad feeling about this one, Sid. Nobody comes back from that place. What if something bad happens to us?" She questioned and was terrified at the thought of being trapped on a mountain and then starving to death or worse with her best friend. It wasn't like they were just visiting a haunted prison or even doing another sky diving trip. This seemed much more risky with the fact that nobody even knew what was on the mysterious mountain. Sasquatch could be living up there, for all they knew.

Sid sighed and slouched on the couch, appearing to be in deep thought over her companion's concerns. She tucked a strand of bright red hair behind her ear and placed the laptop on the couch that they shared.

Pan remembered buying the old burgundy couch together when they first became roommates. The first time Sid gazed at that damn ugly thing, she refused to buy anything else. Pan had given up fighting her over it. Once Sid had her heart set on something, that was it. Thus, the old burgundy couch ended up as a new addition to their humble home.

"You are really set on doing this together, huh?" Pan inquired and took another glance over at her friend, seeing a small smile form on her lips.

"Duh, I wouldn't be desperately trying to convince you if I wasn't," Sid replied with a wide grin spreading across her face. She knew Pan was giving up on this fight. This is what usually happened between them. Her blue eyes looked at her expectantly.

"Fine. We will check out this spooky mountain," Pan spoke up, letting her best bud win the argument in the end. She silently regretted it although her friend was practically beaming next to her. "Ok, but we have to be prepared. We don't know what's up there. Sid, you better not get us both killed," She said and shot Sid a glare. She always gave in to her crazy requests. This was just another thing that Sid would drag her into. She never completely had the heart to refuse her best friend. Besides, even if she did refuse to go, then Sid would likely just end up hiking up the mountain on her own. That wasn't an idea Pan liked to entertain.

"Well, I haven't gotten us killed yet," Sid says and smirks back at her, leaning over to give her a reassuring hug. "I have faith in us," She declared and then preceded to wrap her arms around Pan's tense shoulders. A few pieces of left over pop corn fell off of her shirt and landed in Pan's lap in the process.

"I hope you're right," Pan sighed. She was slightly annoyed at the pop corn mess but reached over to hug Sid anyway. "God, I hope you're right about this one, She mumbled anxiously. Her eyes slipped shut as Sid gave her small comforting pats on her back.


	2. Mount Ebott

The Magic of Monsters

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Chapter Two:

Mount Ebott

There was a chill running through Pandora as she stared up at the ominous mountain that she was destined to climb. She couldn't tell if it was the fear gripping her or if it was simply the cool weather affecting her. Whatever it was, she quickly decided that she didn't like it.

On the other hand, Sidney was nearly bouncing on her heels with excitement as they continued to tread up closer towards their destination. She had been bubbly the whole morning as they packed their gear and set off for their trip. It took Pan some more convincing to get ready for this event, but eventually she gave into her friend's demands as usual. Despite being fearful, Pan couldn't help also feeling slightly relieved about her companion's obvious satisfaction with this unique trip. It made Pan smile. At least her friend was happy.

The two girls continued walking up a path to Mount Ebott, reading various warning signs indicting that the mountain was dangerous and even going as far as advising wandering travelers to turn back the way they came. Both of them just kept ignoring the warning signs as they passed along the trail.

Sid was a lot more experienced in climbing and she seemed completely confident in her climbing skills. She had been practically mountaineering for the last three years, always eager to drag Pan into traveling with her. Usually, they would explore mountain tops in a group of people who were more experienced. However, Mount Ebott was not likely to be a difficult mountain to climb. More than likely the two girls expected to be hiking most of it, since it was small compared to other various mountain that they had previously explored together.

Pan felt her pack shift on her shoulder blades as she tried to keep up the pace with Sid. Neither of them had packed much and Sid insisted that Mount Ebott would be a short trip anyway. They didn't plan on exploring the area for too long. At most it would likely take them the whole day to investigate and then leave. Well, that's what Pan hoped for anyway. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into any Sasquatches either, Pan added as an amusing afterthought.

She became calmer as she listened to the soft crunching of her boots walking on dead leaves and foliage. Sid was in front on her, stepping quickly and keeping her eyes on the destination that loomed ahead. They weren't far from it now.

"Come on, slow poke," Sid whined. She gave her friend an impatient look as she turned her head to look behind her. "You're holding us up!"

"Can't I enjoy the scenery on the way there?" Pan called back at her chuckling and Sid snorted in response. As an added bonus, Pan decided to stick her tongue out as Sid quickly turned her sights back on the trail in front of them.

They kept walking until they finally reached the bottom of the mountain. Sid was practically bursting with excitement and was shouting at Pan to hurry up. Both girls started hiking the bottom section of the mountain. Pan's anxiety was quickly dissipating as she realized how easy it was traveling to the base of the mountain. Mount Ebott was not a high mountain by any novice climber's standards. In fact, Pan was questioning the rumors about the area being dangerous. The area had actually seemed pretty peaceful, despite the warning signs.

They hadn't even encountered much wildlife in the area, which was bizarre considering there weren't typically people who wandered into this area due to the legends and stories. Pan had expected to at least spot some deer or other animals wandering about, but she only saw a few robins bopping about on a few trees. It sure was strange. Her Sasquatch theory was getting stronger by the second.

Pan was starting to feel more comfortable as she and Sid continued their way along the mountain. Sometimes, they would stop to sight-see and just take in the moment. Sid was always dramatic with everything she experienced. Every time they would pause to take in a sight, she would take a huge gulp of air and extend her arms high above her head. Her theatrics always earned a giggle from Pan.

Grinning with amusement the rest of the way, Pan continued to follow her friend up on the base of the mountain. Of course Sid started climbing right away, already moving to a ledge before Pan could even blink an eye. Pan also lifted herself onto the small edge, trying to keep up with Sid who was already reaching for a second ledge.

"Sid, wait up! The mountain isn't moving anywhere," Pan called out with added humor. Although she enjoyed Sid's enthusiasm, she was low on steam and needed to take a break.

"Ah geez, Pan. I am getting sick of waiting for you," Sid replied. She had already climbed up on the second ledge and was staring down at her friend with her head cocked to the side. "Slow poke," She teased with a wink.

"I'm just taking in this wonderful view," Pan retorted as she tried to catch her breath. She was starting to believe that she was out of shape with the way that Sid moved around. Both of the girls were pretty athletic due to all the special trips they took, but Sid was like a hyperactive child on a sugar high. Pan could hardly keep up with her.

"Uh huh. Sure, Pandy," Sid said while shaking her head disapprovingly.

Pan winced at the use of her embarrassing nickname. She hated it when Sid would call her Pandy. Sometimes if Sid was in a particularly silly mood, she would extend that nickname to 'Pandy Bear', which was a thousand times worse in Pan's opinion. Practically, no one ever called either of them by their full names. Though, Pan always felt that 'Pandy Bear' was the worst one of them all.

Sid placed her hands on her hips and tapped her boot impatiently on the ledge, while Pan leaned against a large boulder to rest. Pan was relieved that they had both stopped for another quick break. She was tiring out quickly.

"So do you think the legends are true now that we are climbing it?" Sid suddenly asked. Pan looked up at her.

"I am not sure yet," Pan sighed. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was a little off about the place. They hadn't encountered any problems since they'd arrived on the mountain, but she still felt uneasy for some reason. Though, she wouldn't dare tell her friend that she still felt nervous.

Sid appeared to hum in agreement and had accepted Pan's answer without complaint. She was no longer tapping her foot and was looking far off into the distance. She seem to be deep in thought over something. Pan took that as a bad sign.

"What's wrong?" Pan questioned. She was having trouble reading the expression on Sid's face.

"I'm going to move up ahead. You can catch up when you are done taking your break," She answered. Pan began to feel uneasy.

"Really, Sid. You can't just give me a minute?" Pan asked nervously. She didn't really like the idea of her friend leaving her behind. Though, they haven't ran into any issues thus far, Pan was still worried about traveling without Sid. She didn't want to be alone.

"You can continue admiring this wonderful view," Sid replied with a wink and had started walking further away from Pan.

"Don't worry, I just want to take a photo of something I see ahead of us. I'll be back in a minute or two, OK?" She spoke loudly with excitement. Something must have caught her eye. Pan watched as her figure disappeared into the distance ahead of them. She was still leaning against the boulder and could barely see over the ledge in front of her.

"Alright! But don't wander too far, or else!" Pan yelled up at her friend hoping that she could still hear her.

She could hear Sid holler back a faint 'OK' in response. Pan sighed and slumped down to ground into a sitting position.

She removed a bottled water and a slim Jim from her pack. At least she could finally take a break. Pan figured that her friend would try to take as many pictures as she could of this place. Her friend was likely planning to use those pictures as evidence to dispel the myth of Mount Ebott being dangerous.

Sid was insane, but she could take spectacular photos. It was part of the reason why Sid was always excited about traveling to new places. She was an adrenaline junky who also loved taking pictures. That's why Pan got her a new digital camera for Christmas and Sid has never left home without it since.

She took a bite out of her slim-jim and a sip of her water. Her brown eyes looked out into the wilderness with curiosity, wondering if she would catch some deer in the distance. However, there was not such luck. Not a soul seemed to lurk into the area. It was disappointing. It made Pan somewhat sad at the lack of life.

She had enough with sitting around. Her body quickly became restless as she ate the rest of her snack and took another gulp of water. She no longer felt peaceful with the stillness of the forest below and the chill of a sudden gust of wind. It was time to leave.

Her hands grabbed at her water and food wrapper. She proceeded to shove both items into her pack and zipped it up. It had only been about five minutes, but Pan wasn't comfortable with hanging around any longer. The fear of being alone was getting to her and the sooner she found Sid, the better off she'd be.

Pan moved to the top of the ledge that Sid had previously stood on. Once she was on top of it, she looked forward to see if she could spot her friend's figure. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Sid. Pan cursed inwardly. Now, she was feeling anxious. Where in the world did Sid run off to?

This wasn't good. Now she had lost her friend. Sid wouldn't do this to her on purpose. She knew how anxious Pan was when she was left alone. No, something must have happened.

The air felt heavy as Pan scanned the horizon frantically. Her mind replayed stories of families who had lost loved ones to the mysterious mountain. Nobody returned home. Had her best friend vanished like the others? Would she also disappear?

Her mind was quickly interrupted by the sound of crunching feet. Pan's eyes darted around the area to detect the source of the sound. Her brown orbs quickly fell upon a small figure a few feet in front of her. The figure did not appear to have noticed her presence.

At first, she felt relieved at spotting the humanoid figure, figuring that it was just Sid wondering around in her exploration. Though, she started to realize that the person was a lot smaller than Sid and herself. It was about the size of a small child.

Whoever it was seemed to be preoccupied with picking flowers. She got a little closer and saw that the child had about five flowers gripped in their small hands. They also had short brown hair and a striped shirt. Pan tried to move in closer to the small child, while wondering if their parents were nearby.

She didn't understand why this kid was even up here. What were they doing up here anyway? No sensible parent would drag their child on a supposedly dangerous mountain and leave them walking around on their own. Though, a small part of Pan wondered if the child was a ghost or just a part of her imagination. Maybe the area was haunted like that one prison she had visited with Sid. That idea seemed to make much more sense.

Something didn't seem to feel right about this situation and Pan was baffled at the child's nonchalant attitude. It was as if the kid was competently oblivious to the danger of hiking the mountain alone. They just continued to pick flowers without a care in the world.

"Hey, you." Pan spoke while noticing the child freeze. "What are you doing up here?" Pan questioned them, but they refused to turn around and answer her. They just stood in front of her seemingly frozen with fear. Perhaps, she came across too strong.

Suddenly, without any warning, they had bolted.

"Hey! Wait! I didn't mean to scare you!" She had stuttered with surprise and began to chase after them. Pan cursed inwardly at herself and jogged after the child.

The child took a glance at Pan as they ran. After seeing Pan chasing them, they started to run faster. She had picked up the pace as well, huffing and puffing air as her pack kept slamming against her upper back.

Then the child made a quick turn into a small cave. Pan skidded at the sudden turn, but kept up the pursuit.

"Stop! Please!" She called after them, having difficulty in seeing their figure in the darkness of the cave. "I am not going to hurt you." She said, hoping that they would heed her words and stop running away from her. Pan was worried that one of them would get hurt, since the cave was so dark. She didn't like the thought of the kid getting injured. Luckily, she had her first aid kit with her just in case.

Unfortunately, her worst fears of the child getting hurt came true as she heard a distant shriek ahead of her. It sounded like the kid had fallen down somewhere in the cave.

"Hold on. I'm coming!" She yelled as she spotted the kid's brown head. They had appeared to have slipped into a small hole. The child gave her a look of terror as they held on tightly to the edge of the hole. It nearly broke her heart. This was her fault for sneaking up on them and causing them to flee.

"Help me," The kid started to cry, tears were already streaming on their cheek as Pan made it to the edge of the hole.

"Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of there," She said trying to comfort them and reached her left arm over the edge. "Here, take my hand and I'll pull you up."

The kid immediately went to grab at Pan's outstretched arm, but then they started to slip off the edge. They were not able to keep their grip and Pan quickly took action.

She frantically grabbed at the child's arm and shoulder, while leaning over the edge. The kid was now using both arms to desperately cling onto her body. They were now both slipping over the edge into the gaping abyss.

Panicked and now crying harder, the child pulled at Pan's left arm with all their strength. Pan strained to keep her balance, but felt her heart stop in her chest when she felt the rest of her body weight fall into the hole. She had let out a panicked gasp as her feet scrambled for anything that could prevent them from falling.

However, it was too late to catch herself. Pan and the child fell deep into the abyss and she had silently prayed for a miracle on the way down.


End file.
